encouragment daily to prepare for the final is most effective for my students.
Hi Craig- Thank you for your post to the forum. It is a very good practice to let your students know what the format of an assessment will be. Will it be essay? Multiple choice? Short Answer? So much of test anxiety is the fear of the unknown. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Certainly it depends on the class. But for the majority of the tests I write are a mixture of all the formats. I inform the students of this in the review section to prepare differently.
Craig
I use chapter headings to organize myself to create tests.
Hi Tina- THanks for your post to the forum. You have a well rounded strategy for assessment!Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Testing is based on the objectives for the course and the best way to measure them. We tend to use true/false and multiple choice with occassional matching and completion. It depends on the content and the purpose of mastery. It is also based on cognitive level required on future licensing exams.
Hi Michelle-Thanks for your post to the forum. I also recommend varying assessment types as much as possible. I feel it gives a clearer picture of what the students know. Best wishes- Susan
I tend to look at the content and see what the past results for testing have been to implement the best testing of what has been covered in class.
I find that using a variety of the testing formats makes the testing process more user friendly for everyone and can evaluate the knowledge they have on many levels opposed to just a T/F test or M/C test. It makes the students understand the content more thoroughly and not to rely on "multiple guess."
Hi Regina- Thanks for your post to the forum. You have a well-rounded assessment program for your program! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I did massage therapy which obviously requires testing of hands-on skilss. I decide how I test based on if it is a hands-on techniques, factual information like anatomy, or more critical thinking like treatment plans. All of the above require different types of testing.
Thanks for your post to the forum. I'm glad that you have found an effective style of assessment!
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Thomas- Thanks for your post to the forum. I agree that it is necessary to help students prep for licensure or cert exams by using similar assessments. The shorter quizzes etc. should focus on what you are preseting and what they are reading in their texts. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Testing format is really up to the individual instructor. However, a variety of testing methods can be used for almost any course. With the focus on standardized testing, either for licensure or certification, modelling this format is usually best for major exams in order to prep students on effectively studying for and taking these tests.
Short answer and completion works best for me as well. It lets me see what they fully understand or what they are getting confused at. It evaluates me in how I lectured the topic.
i agree with this. I love mixing my tests up to see what works best for each group of students. I like making them think outside of the box.
HI Michael- Thanks for your post to the forum. I like your strategy of moving from multiple choice to dretemine content knowledge and then moving to essay assessment to determine synthesis/critical thinking skills. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Michael - Thanks for your post to the forum. You bring up an important point. As instructors who deal with our students on a daily basis and assess them through questioning , we have a good grasp of how much each student knows. Sometimes however, we have a student who really just does not test well. Be it anxiety or whatever, they "freeze" when taking actual exams. When I look at the high school records of these students, it seems clear that they should probably have had an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that would have given them some assistance. Now on the post-secondary level there is not so much we can do. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
My main criterion for any particular test is whether the grades achieved on it by students will accurately reflect what I perceive to be the level of achievement of each student based on my observations of classroom performance and on results of previous testing.
I think starting with a multiple choice test and as the course progresses, go to an essay format. it keeps them on their toes and they see the route I am headed is checking their comprehension of the material I covered.
Hi Roger-Thanks for your post to the forum. You have mentioned an important point - we need to give our students guidance as to what the important concepts, techniques etc. are AS we conduct class. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
